Cal keeps talking aloud. “There’s no fluid buildup.” I know he’s talking to himself, talking through what it could or couldn’t be. “Walk with her. Let me see her move.”
I pull on her lead, walking in a full circle around the doc.
“No tremors?”
“None that I’ve seen.”
“Good.” He waves for me to bring her closer. “I’m going to treat her for vitamin deficiency. I’ll inject her with vitamin A. It may help with the clouding. We’ll have to see. I’ll draw some blood and do a full workup so we’ll know for sure.”
I’m about to reply when I hear her voice. “Hey, Cal.”
He stands and turns to see Isabelle and Andi approach. “Well, well, well. Izzy Harmon.” He pulls off his rubber gloves and tosses them onto his medical bag. “I heard you were back in town.”
When he gets to her, he wraps her up in his arms and gives her a big hug. He’s got his hands on her, and it pisses me off immediately. I want to rip the two of them apart and growl like a wild animal, but I have to keep it together and accept the fact that Isabelle and Cal make sense together. He’s not damaged goods.
Cal pulls away and turns to see me red-faced and hands fisted. He chuckles, then turns back to Isabelle. “You look amazing, Izzy.”
I watch her blush, and it pisses me off all over again.
“Thanks, Cal. So do you.”
“Aw, shucks, pretty lady. Thanks.” Cal is a fucking asshole. I’m going to beat the ever-loving shit out of him the next time I see him. But not right now. No, now I need to keep my cool.
“How’s Cy?” she asks Cal with a smile.
“I’m thinking it’s a vitamin deficiency, but we’ll have to wait for the bloodwork.”
“Oh, that’s a relief.” She sighs. “I was worried it was BVD, but there was no fluid in the eye.”
Shit, she knows about that shit? I run my fingers through my hair. Of course she does. She worked with her dad for years. They’ve got cattle. It makes sense.
“Right.” Cal chuckles.
Looking at me, she adds, “You may have to bottle feed her with vitamin supplements. We had a drought last year.”
Cal smirks. “She’s right. Beta carotene levels could be reduced due to drought. You may want to supplement the feed for the rest of the herd as well.”
“Right.” I nod.
“In the meantime”—Cal pats Cy’s head—“let’s get her feeling better.”
“She gonna be okay, Doc?” asks a somber Andi.
“I hope so, kiddo. I hope so.”
10
Isabelle
Where do I start?After Cal drove off in his fancy pickup, I did the same in my small, late-model SUV. I waved to Andi and tried to do the same to Nash, but he’d already turned around and was making his way back to the barn by then. My goodness, the man is salty. I’d probably be crabby too if I had to run this entire farm by myself. Sure, he’s got some farmhands that work for him, but he’s still got to do most of it himself.
It makes sense that something had to give, and that something is his house. It’s a mess. There are papers everywhere. It took us ten minutes to clear up a spot on the dining table just to work together. I picked up a stack and stood there staring at the piles all over the table. “Just put ’em over there,” Andi pointed to a long buffet that was also covered in papers. Papers and dust. I wasn’t surprised about dust. Living out on a farm, there’s lots of dirt that makes its way into the house. The trick is to stay on top of it. My mom dusts every single day and vacuums almost as often. She’s got a system.
When I walked through the living room to the bathroom, same thing. There was a layer of dust over everything—everything except the couch and the television. There were also laundry baskets heaping with clothes that I assumed were clean. I suspect he washes them and just leaves them in the baskets. Then they pull clean things from there rather than put them away. It’s efficient, that’s for sure. The kitchen is old. Very old. The stove is olive green, which is great because it matches the fridge. He’s got a coffee maker, microwave, and a toaster oven on the counter—a counter that has seen better days. I can’t believe Bonnie used to work in that kitchen. And then there’s the bathroom. It’s clean… ish. The places they use are clean. You know, like the sink, toilet, and shower. The rest? Not so much.
“Crap on a cracker.” He needs a cleaning crew or… me. I feel like I should just go on in there and get that place shipshape, but there’s no way he’ll let me do that. That would be overstepping. Heck, he’d probably be even angrier than he already is, and my sole purpose of going there is to help Andi. And help Andi I will.
* * *
